Audio Consultant Engineer - Linux Audio Stack

About Collabora: Collabora is a premier, internationally recognized open-source software pioneer, Linux kernel consulting innovator, and global technology leader on an absolute mission to shape the future of distributed digital ecosystems. For over two decades, Collabora has embedded itself at the vanguard of the open-source movement, delivering world-class engineering expertise to major hardware vendors, cloud computing scale-ups, and global consumer product brands. Guided strictly by an “upstream first” core philosophy, the agency believes that the best technological solutions benefit the entire open community. Composed of an elite, highly collaborative workforce across Europe, the Americas, and Asia, Collabora unifies deep systems-level programming with pragmatic client execution. The company fosters an inclusive, highly autonomous corporate environment where expert software engineers are granted the ultimate technical canvas to contribute directly to foundational codebases that power billions of devices worldwide.

Position Overview

We are seeking a highly analytical, systems-minded Audio Consultant Engineer - Linux Audio Stack to join our core global Engineering division in a full-time remote capacity open to candidates located anywhere in the world. In this high-leverage software seat, you will step up to claim individual technical accountability for designing, integrating, and debugging the embedded Linux audio architectures deployed inside our customers’ flagship physical products. Moving entirely away from standard user-space application wrapping or uninsulated scripting, this role operates at the intense intersection of low-level kernel mechanics, open-source community development, and high-touch customer-facing strategy. You will collaborate peer-to-peer with the upstream communities of WirePlumber, PipeWire, and ALSA to deliver Quality-of-Service performance on real-world projects, acting as a trusted technical advisor who explains complex architectural realities and timelines confidently to multi-department enterprise clients.

Key Responsibilities

• Upstream Community Participation: Code, optimize, and submit patches natively to the **PipeWire**, **WirePlumber**, and **ALSA** upstream open-source communities, driving long-term subsystem development.
• Low-Level Systems Programming: Architect and implement production-grade embedded Linux audio platforms, writing highly maintainable, optimized, and secure source components natively in the Audio Engineering domain utilizing **C programming** frameworks.
• Multi-Layer Infrastructure Triage: Isolate, diagnose, and eliminate systemic audio bugs across complex multi-layered Linux environments, utilizing specialized tracing tools, `pw-cli`, `pw-top`, and `alsa-utils`.
• Core Audio Concept Modeling: Refactor and govern system telemetry variables, establishing uncompromised signal processing rules across buffer sizes, sample rates, resampling layers, and clock synchronization matrices to minimize processing latency.
• Digital Signal Processing (DSP) Configuration: Analyze and configure foundational signal flows and processing blocks natively, providing guidance on acoustic echo cancellation (AEC), noise suppression, and beamforming arrays.
• Technical Advisory Consulting: Work directly with customer engineering cells to translate vague business goals into scalable technical blueprints, delivering transparent assessments of architectural constraints.
• Cross-Functional Hardware Interfacing: Support adjacent wireless audio pipelines when required, managing driver performance, token lifecycle rules, and data profiles for **Bluetooth audio** protocols including A2DP, HFP, and LE Audio.
• System documentation & Change Logging: Design and maintain immaculate system topology sheets, interface schemas, and technical process logs to secure deep alignment between internal cells and external open-source contributors.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• 5+ years of verified professional history running advanced software engineering, backend systems programming, embedded Linux firmware compilation, or kernel-level technology consulting.
• Deep, authoritative technical command of the Linux audio stack, showcasing a production-tested track record configuring or troubleshooting **PipeWire**, **WirePlumber**, or **ALSA** environments.
• Expert-tier programming proficiency writing clean, memory-safe code bases natively using **C** within distributed operating system frameworks.
• Demonstrated history troubleshooting complex architectural bugs across multiple layers of an embedded operating system, tracking memory allocation bounds and CPU registers.
• Outstanding verbal, written, and consultative presentation traits, with a proven capability to articulate abstract technical data fluidly to both developer cells and non-technical business partners.
• Location Context: Parameters structured under 100% remote work-from-home options open to qualified systems engineers located **Anywhere Globally** across Europe, North America, South America, or Asia, with zero on-call rotation overhead.

Preferred Strategic Indicators (Nice to Have)

• Prior commercial history writing or debugging code files natively inside the **ALSA kernel driver** subsystem or contributing directly to open-source data trees.
• Practical exposure compiling or refactoring hardware-level systems code natively leveraging Rust.
• Familiarity with real-time Linux kernels (PREEMPT_RT), custom Yocto Project layers, Buildroot infrastructures, or board support packages (BSP).
• A public portfolio of open-source contributions or a record of speaking at global engineering conferences and open-source tech summits.

What We Offer

• The exceptional professional canvas to directly direct, code-shape, and deploy the open-source software architectures framing how millions of devices handle digital audio globally.
• Highly competitive, capability-benchmarked full-time baseline salary structures calibrated meticulously to evaluate and reward your systems-level authority and execution velocity.
• Profound work-from-home remote parameters offering 100% global geographic flexibility, flexible remote schedules, complete scheduling trust, and a highly sustainable marathon pace.
• Dedicated corporate funding allocations for your home workspace, providing a structured **Office Setup Budget** right at your residential base.
• Immediate eligibility to access our specialized **Paid Sabbatical Program** (Retention of Services) upon completing five years of continuous operational service.
• Access to a flexible co-working policy, providing corporate financial support for engineers who prefer working outside of their residential base.
• Comprehensive health calibration benefits, encompassing **biannual wellness assessments** conducted confidentially alongside a trained mental health specialist.
• Full financial support for international conference attendance, completely covering expenses and offering dedicated presentation coaching to boost your professional reputation publicly.
• An explicit corporate allowance granting dedicated **open source time** to code and build within the software ecosystems you personally care about most.